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We had been awaiting the “landing” of RocketSpace in London with considerable anticipation, knowing how closely the RocketSpace philosophy aligns with our own and of its noteworthy success in San Francisco. No less than 18 of the tech-startups it has supported have achieved billion-dollar valuations. Whilst unicorn status is not the be all and end all, to have nurtured a stable of so many is validation of its approach and not to be sneezed at. With his team, Duncan Logan, Founder and CEO of RocketSpace, has focused on cultivating an ecosystem which provides the optimal conditions necessary for young companies to thrive and grow, but more than that, to do so at an accelerated pace, benefitting the companies, their investors and clients alike. Each one of RocketSpace’s global tech campuses provides access to growth-oriented amenities, programming, introductions to top venture capitalists, as well as corporates, and more, making it a premium international coworking community for tech startups ready to scale. Importantly, those that seek to do so into overseas markets, such as Juno’s own portfolio companies, will find a “home from home” at each of the campuses. Familiar “plug and play” premises, a ready-made network of warm introductions, assistance with relocation, and local trusted corporate advisers, all help to mitigate the arguably distracting effect of establishing a foot-hold in a new territory so that companies can hit the ground running and, it could be said, with a considerable head start. With the London campus opening, we had an encouraging conversation with Priya Guha, Ecosystem General Manager in London, shortly after, since which we have been working actively together to develop the relationship. I have spent time working from the campus and Priya’s team has introduced us to numerous promising resident companies. One of their most promising, however, needed no introduction, as our own portfolio company, CloudIQ, has already relocated to the campus to accommodate its need for additional space and to benefit from access to the global ecosystem noted above as it fulfills its growth ambitions further. The Juno team are therefore delighted to announce that we are now officially a RocketSpace partner and engaged member of its international ecosystem. We very much look forward to working with Priya and her team, contributing to the global community and to sharing its success with our investors and portfolio companies. In light of which, we are also pleased to announce that Juno will be relocating from our offices in Henry Wood House to the RocketSpace campus in London with effect from 23rd March 2018.
Our new address from 23rd March will be as follows: -
Juno Capital Partners LLPRocketSpace 40-42 Islington High Street London N1 8EQ Our telephone and mobile numbers, as well as our email addresses, will remain unchanged. Please do not send any post to Henry Wood House after that date as it may not reach us. Should you wish to know more, have any questions or queries about our partnership with RocketSpace, or indeed wish to explore corporate partnership for your own organisation, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Claire CorbinOperations Manager For and on behalf of Juno Capital Partners LLP E: ccorbin@junocapital.co.ukT: 020 3011 0783 M: 07884 054 000 Twitter: @junocapitalLinkedIn

We had been awaiting the “landing” of RocketSpace in London with considerable anticipation, knowing how closely the RocketSpace philosophy aligns with our own and of its noteworthy success in San Francisco. No less than 18 of the tech-startups it has supported have achieved billion-dollar valuations. Whilst unicorn status is not the be all and end all, to have nurtured a stable of so many is validation of its approach and not to be sneezed at. With his team, Duncan Logan, Founder and CEO of RocketSpace, has focused on cultivating an ecosystem which provides the optimal conditions necessary for young companies to thrive and grow, but more than that, to do so at an accelerated pace, benefitting the companies, their investors and clients alike. Each one of RocketSpace’s global tech campuses provides access to growth-oriented amenities, programming, introductions to top venture capitalists, as well as corporates, and more, making it a premium international coworking community for tech startups ready to scale. Importantly, those that seek to do so into overseas markets, such as Juno’s own portfolio companies, will find a “home from home” at each of the campuses. Familiar “plug and play” premises, a ready-made network of warm introductions, assistance with relocation, and local trusted corporate advisers, all help to mitigate the arguably distracting effect of establishing a foot-hold in a new territory so that companies can hit the ground running and, it could be said, with a considerable head start. With the London campus opening, we had an encouraging conversation with Priya Guha, Ecosystem General Manager in London, shortly after, since which we have been working actively together to develop the relationship. I have spent time working from the campus and Priya’s team has introduced us to numerous promising resident companies. One of their most promising, however, needed no introduction, as our own portfolio company, CloudIQ, has already relocated to the campus to accommodate its need for additional space and to benefit from access to the global ecosystem noted above as it fulfills its growth ambitions further. The Juno team are therefore delighted to announce that we are now officially a RocketSpace partner and engaged member of its international ecosystem. We very much look forward to working with Priya and her team, contributing to the global community and to sharing its success with our investors and portfolio companies. In light of which, we are also pleased to announce that Juno will be relocating from our offices in Henry Wood House to the RocketSpace campus in London with effect from 23rd March 2018.
Our new address from 23rd March will be as follows: -
Juno Capital Partners LLPRocketSpace 40-42 Islington High Street London N1 8EQ Our telephone and mobile numbers, as well as our email addresses, will remain unchanged. Please do not send any post to Henry Wood House after that date as it may not reach us. Should you wish to know more, have any questions or queries about our partnership with RocketSpace, or indeed wish to explore corporate partnership for your own organisation, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Claire CorbinOperations Manager For and on behalf of Juno Capital Partners LLP E: ccorbin@junocapital.co.ukT: 020 3011 0783 M: 07884 054 000 Twitter: @junocapitalLinkedIn

Our investors have just received back the investment that they made in a solar renewable energy business. If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s been a shining example of how successful the Enterprise Investment Scheme can be.
When we made the investment, it was in response to our investors’ wish to participate in building the UK’s alternative energy infrastructure. We set out to find a credible renewable energy business. It was essential that the one we chose had an excellent track record in planning, building and operating to time and to budget. We were happy to take the investment risk that we would find a buyer to exit our investors after three years – matching the EIS qualifying investment period.
It has been a fascinating, and very fulfilling journey to watch the way that tight management controls ensured that the project was built on time, on budget, and then began operating. Its energy generation has been consistent and within the boundaries promised by management and probability statistics about the UK’s weather.
Our investors have been delighted. Although all interested in the subject of renewable energy, what really attracted them to the idea of making an investment were the benefits offered by participating in the EIS tax relief scheme. This allowed them to do two things, to reduce their income tax bill, and to defer any CGT that they owed – or might owe. An added bonus was that the investment attracted IHT relief.
Not surprisingly our investors, on receiving their cash back, have immediately asked to do the same thing again. Sadly, that is now not possible, for the government has removed EIS from renewable energy schemes. To be fair some investment funds have, in our opinion, provided a very poor return for their investors and at the same time tweaked the nose of HMRC over the way they have operated. However, we feel that a better compromise could have been reached to keep people engaged in supporting the UK’s renewable infrastructure build.
Sadly, it’s really the UK that loses out. Our investors cannot recycle their investment into renewable infrastructure again. The government’s stated intention, that our investor’s money would somehow find its way instead into higher risk venture is all very well, but it is a pipedream and misunderstands how investors think and operate. An investment in renewable energy infrastructure is an allocation to a steady yield and marginal to no capital growth. It forms a significant and valuable part of an investor’s portfolio and is very different from an allocation to higher risk venture.
A look at the government’s own figures on EIS, reported by HMRC in “Statistics on Companies raising funds” (just published) reveals that renewable energy accounted for a quarter of all EIS funds invested in 2014, but this has fallen precipitously since and now accounts for less than 8%. The question is, was the complete exclusion of renewable energy schemes from the EIS a sensible move? Probably not. A better compromise would not have been hard to find, and one that would have kept cash flowing into UK infrastructure projects.
We know, dealing with investors every day, that money that went into renewable energy is not being recycled into higher risk venture. Broader evidence of this is not hard to find, with the HMRC reporting a fall in total funds flowing into EIS in 2015/16.
The shame in the whole exercise is that we want to support the UK’s renewable energy sector; our investors want to support it – again, and yet it’s not something that we can do. It is particularly frustrating as it’s hard to see how anyone has lost out. All the more disappointing then, that in a time of growing political and economic uncertainty, we cannot persuade the government to reconsider the evidence and find a compromise that utilises the strengths of EIS to support the UK’s renewable energy industry.
Dr Julian HickmanPartnerJuno Capital LLP @rotaryaviator
@junocapitalwww.junocapital.co.uk

Our investors have just received back the investment that they made in a solar renewable energy business. If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s been a shining example of how successful the Enterprise Investment Scheme can be.
When we made the investment, it was in response to our investors’ wish to participate in building the UK’s alternative energy infrastructure. We set out to find a credible renewable energy business. It was essential that the one we chose had an excellent track record in planning, building and operating to time and to budget. We were happy to take the investment risk that we would find a buyer to exit our investors after three years – matching the EIS qualifying investment period.
It has been a fascinating, and very fulfilling journey to watch the way that tight management controls ensured that the project was built on time, on budget, and then began operating. Its energy generation has been consistent and within the boundaries promised by management and probability statistics about the UK’s weather.
Our investors have been delighted. Although all interested in the subject of renewable energy, what really attracted them to the idea of making an investment were the benefits offered by participating in the EIS tax relief scheme. This allowed them to do two things, to reduce their income tax bill, and to defer any CGT that they owed – or might owe. An added bonus was that the investment attracted IHT relief.
Not surprisingly our investors, on receiving their cash back, have immediately asked to do the same thing again. Sadly, that is now not possible, for the government has removed EIS from renewable energy schemes. To be fair some investment funds have, in our opinion, provided a very poor return for their investors and at the same time tweaked the nose of HMRC over the way they have operated. However, we feel that a better compromise could have been reached to keep people engaged in supporting the UK’s renewable infrastructure build.
Sadly, it’s really the UK that loses out. Our investors cannot recycle their investment into renewable infrastructure again. The government’s stated intention, that our investor’s money would somehow find its way instead into higher risk venture is all very well, but it is a pipedream and misunderstands how investors think and operate. An investment in renewable energy infrastructure is an allocation to a steady yield and marginal to no capital growth. It forms a significant and valuable part of an investor’s portfolio and is very different from an allocation to higher risk venture.
A look at the government’s own figures on EIS, reported by HMRC in “Statistics on Companies raising funds” (just published) reveals that renewable energy accounted for a quarter of all EIS funds invested in 2014, but this has fallen precipitously since and now accounts for less than 8%. The question is, was the complete exclusion of renewable energy schemes from the EIS a sensible move? Probably not. A better compromise would not have been hard to find, and one that would have kept cash flowing into UK infrastructure projects.
We know, dealing with investors every day, that money that went into renewable energy is not being recycled into higher risk venture. Broader evidence of this is not hard to find, with the HMRC reporting a fall in total funds flowing into EIS in 2015/16.
The shame in the whole exercise is that we want to support the UK’s renewable energy sector; our investors want to support it – again, and yet it’s not something that we can do. It is particularly frustrating as it’s hard to see how anyone has lost out. All the more disappointing then, that in a time of growing political and economic uncertainty, we cannot persuade the government to reconsider the evidence and find a compromise that utilises the strengths of EIS to support the UK’s renewable energy industry.
Dr Julian HickmanPartnerJuno Capital LLP @rotaryaviator
@junocapitalwww.junocapital.co.uk

The advent of the Government's Autumn budget statement always brings forth a number of predictions. Some wise, some hopeful, and some just plain odd. Into this mix, one this year caught my eye. Apparently, the Government is likely to reduce the amount of income tax relief available to investors in the EIS scheme and increase the qualifying period required to achieve that income tax relief. The originator of this suggestion is RSM, reportedly a tax consultancy service.
Given that nothing is impossible, yes, it could come to pass. However, do we think it is probable? No, not even remotely. I accept that if you take as your context the idea that EIS is a tax shelter for the wealthy, people who can shelter £300k of income tax relief by making a £1m investment, then I think you can convince yourself that this is indeed a possibility. But how many people actually invest £1m into EIS? Not many, that's for sure. Once upon a time when the Government offered EIS relief for investing in renewable energy, or asset backed investments there were a goodly number of people who invested well over £500k a year into these EIS backed schemes.
Times have changed though, with the Government steadily tightening the EIS rules to remove all of these from EIS eligibility over the last few years. That was done to ensure that EIS support was focused onto UK venture businesses, those companies that were likely to generate high growth and, commensurately high contribution to UK GDP. The UK needs this support, as we are not yet that good at supporting our later stage venture companies, the so-called 'Scale Up' stage.
EIS has been very successful at nurturing seed and start up investing, especially with the creation of Seed EIS relief, which increased income tax relief for those who would take a higher investment risk by supporting a start-up business. The challenge for the Government now is to repeat that success with scale-up businesses, in some cases those who benefitted from Seed EIS earlier in their lives, and now need another helping hand to underpin their high growth. Typically, this is when they start tackling international expansion, and have annual revenues in excess of £2-3m and growth rates over 100%.
The question that the Government has been grappling with, and has consulted on widely, is how to best support later stage scale-up businesses in the UK. Most reasoned contributions suggest a marginal increase in EIS relief for investors that support companies in the scale-up stage, with ideas that range from increases in Loss Relief to enhanced Capital Gains Tax deferral. These are ideas that alter the balance of risk for investors, without cost to the Government and as such, are much more likely to appear in the fullness of time.
In conclusion, the idea that the Government would knowingly hit UK venture businesses, and hit them hard by reducing the flows of EIS cash to them, just doesn't make any sense. It also goes against the evidence of the last few years, where successive Governments of all three hues, Labour, Conservative and coalition have repeatedly strengthened and refined the EIS reliefs to support UK businesses. I see this continuing, although given we now have the best set of tax support measures for venture businesses in the world, it's difficult to see too much of major significance changing.
Dr Julian HickmanPartnerJuno Capital LLP
jhickman@junocapital.co.ukwww.junocapital.co.uk

The advent of the Government's Autumn budget statement always brings forth a number of predictions. Some wise, some hopeful, and some just plain odd. Into this mix, one this year caught my eye. Apparently, the Government is likely to reduce the amount of income tax relief available to investors in the EIS scheme and increase the qualifying period required to achieve that income tax relief. The originator of this suggestion is RSM, reportedly a tax consultancy service.
Given that nothing is impossible, yes, it could come to pass. However, do we think it is probable? No, not even remotely. I accept that if you take as your context the idea that EIS is a tax shelter for the wealthy, people who can shelter £300k of income tax relief by making a £1m investment, then I think you can convince yourself that this is indeed a possibility. But how many people actually invest £1m into EIS? Not many, that's for sure. Once upon a time when the Government offered EIS relief for investing in renewable energy, or asset backed investments there were a goodly number of people who invested well over £500k a year into these EIS backed schemes.
Times have changed though, with the Government steadily tightening the EIS rules to remove all of these from EIS eligibility over the last few years. That was done to ensure that EIS support was focused onto UK venture businesses, those companies that were likely to generate high growth and, commensurately high contribution to UK GDP. The UK needs this support, as we are not yet that good at supporting our later stage venture companies, the so-called 'Scale Up' stage.
EIS has been very successful at nurturing seed and start up investing, especially with the creation of Seed EIS relief, which increased income tax relief for those who would take a higher investment risk by supporting a start-up business. The challenge for the Government now is to repeat that success with scale-up businesses, in some cases those who benefitted from Seed EIS earlier in their lives, and now need another helping hand to underpin their high growth. Typically, this is when they start tackling international expansion, and have annual revenues in excess of £2-3m and growth rates over 100%.
The question that the Government has been grappling with, and has consulted on widely, is how to best support later stage scale-up businesses in the UK. Most reasoned contributions suggest a marginal increase in EIS relief for investors that support companies in the scale-up stage, with ideas that range from increases in Loss Relief to enhanced Capital Gains Tax deferral. These are ideas that alter the balance of risk for investors, without cost to the Government and as such, are much more likely to appear in the fullness of time.
In conclusion, the idea that the Government would knowingly hit UK venture businesses, and hit them hard by reducing the flows of EIS cash to them, just doesn't make any sense. It also goes against the evidence of the last few years, where successive Governments of all three hues, Labour, Conservative and coalition have repeatedly strengthened and refined the EIS reliefs to support UK businesses. I see this continuing, although given we now have the best set of tax support measures for venture businesses in the world, it's difficult to see too much of major significance changing.
Dr Julian HickmanPartnerJuno Capital LLP
jhickman@junocapital.co.ukwww.junocapital.co.uk

We were delighted to attend the LSE this morning to see Destiny Pharma, a Juno Capital portfolio company, welcomed to the AIM Market.
The day has seen the company well received by the market and, at the time of writing, was trading approximately 40% up on the bell.
More commentary to follow over the coming days.

We were delighted to attend the LSE this morning to see Destiny Pharma, a Juno Capital portfolio company, welcomed to the AIM Market.
The day has seen the company well received by the market and, at the time of writing, was trading approximately 40% up on the bell.
More commentary to follow over the coming days.